Thread: Initializing constants

  1. #1
    Registered User
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    Question Initializing constants

    Someone holler back at me!!

    Constants cannot or should not be modified, right?

    Let's suppose you have

    class Increment {
    public :
    Increment(int c=0, int 1=1); // non-const constructor
    ....
    ....
    ......

    private:
    int count;
    const int increment; //const data member
    };

    Increment::Increment(int c, int i)
    : increment (i) // initialize constant member
    {count =c;}


    How is this contstant being modified?
    by and to what?

  2. #2
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    const variables need to be declared with a constant value at the time of compilation, not at run time:

    int i being passed as a variable and used to initialize the value of increment is not a constant.
    Last edited by elad; 02-28-2003 at 03:36 PM.

  3. #3
    Programming Sex-God Polymorphic OOP's Avatar
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    Originally posted by elad
    const variables need to be declared with a constant value at the time of compilation, not at run time:

    int i being passed as a variable and used to initialize the value of increment is not a constant.
    Not true. The datamember is still considered constant even though there will most-likely be no way for the system to realize its "constness" at runtime. Attempting to explicitly alter the variable from within an object will cause a compile-time error.

    To answer your question, ddavidson, the constant ISN'T being modified. It'd just being initialized. In you class there is a separate const object per datatype. Only one value is assigned to the const data during its life time. You may be confusing a const datamember with a static const datamember.

    Also, there is no such thing as a "const constructor" because construction of the object is not complete at the call of the object (meaning it's not constant at this point -- in fact, it's not even considered an object of the type being constructed yet). A constructor of a const object and a non-const object are therefore exactly the same.
    Last edited by Polymorphic OOP; 02-28-2003 at 04:35 PM.

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